ed
she am! She done been laughing at me fo' a week, because Ah was sho' Ah
done hear yo' that day."

So off the two started to see old Mrs. Possum, and for the rest of that
night Sticky-toes the Tree Toad listened in vain for the sound of his own
voice when his lips were closed tight.

XVIII

THE MISCHIEF-MAKERS

There was a dreadful time on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest. Oh,
dear, dear, dear! It really was dreadful! First Sammy Jay had been accused
of screaming in the night and keeping honest little meadow and forest
people awake when they wanted to sleep. And all the time Sammy Jay hadn't
made a sound. Then Sticky-toes the Tree Toad had been accused of being
noisy, when all the time he was sitting with his mouth closed as tight as
tight could be.

All this was bad enough, but now things were so much worse that it was
getting so that no one would have anything to do with any one else. Those
who had been the very best of friends would pass without speaking. You see,
everybody on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest knows everybody else
by their voice. So when Jimmy Skunk, happening along near the Smiling Pool,
heard Mrs. Redwing's voice, he didn't waste any time trying to see Mrs.
Redwing. Instead, he went straight over and told Johnny Chuck the unkind
things that he had overheard Mrs. Redwing saying about Johnny.

In the same way Bobby Coon heard the voice of Blacky the Crow in Farmer
Brown's corn-field, and when Bobby listened, he heard some things not at
all nice about himself. And so it was, all over the Green Meadows and
through the Green Forest. It seemed as if almost everybody was heard
talking about some one else, and never saying nice things.

The only one who still managed to keep on good terms with everybody was
Unc' Billy Possum. No one had ever heard him saying unkind things about
others and so, because now there were so few others to talk to, everybody
was glad to see Unc' Billy coming, and he soon was the best liked of all
the little meadow and forest people. He went about trying to smooth out the
troubles, and to see him you never, never would have guessed that he had
anything to do with making them. My, my, no, indeed!

But every night when the moon was up, Unc' Billy would have a caller, who
would come and sit just outside the doorway of Unc' Billy's house and
scream "Thief! thief! thief!" Then out would pop Unc' Billy's sharp little
face, and then his fat little body